group difference

Introduction

Assessments are tools for detecting differences. Sokanu’s assessment detects differences in fit with jobs. This information is helpful in choosing a career, and in choosing the right person for a job.

Sometimes a lack of difference is desirable. To promote equal employment goals, it is helpful when protected groups score similarly to other groups. This report explores differences between groups on three grounds: ethnicity, gender, and age.

Group differences are measured using Cohen’s d (Cohen, 1988), which takes into account both the size and consistency of the difference between groups. When interpreting Cohen’s d, .2 is considered a small effect, .5 is a medium effect, and .8 is a large effect.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity analyses compare people with Hispanic or Black origins to people of Caucasian descent. For people with Hispanic ethnicity, there were no large or moderate differences. All 138 scales showed either small differences or favored Hispanics. For people with Black ethnicity, there were no large differences, and 4 moderate differences: people with Black ethnicity scored lower than people with Caucasian ethnicity on Interest in Nature and Agriculture (d = .42), Investigative Holland code (d = .39), and Interest in Working with Animals (d = .47). The remaining 134 scales showed either small differences or favored Blacks.

Taken together, ethnic differences are generally small, suggesting that Sokanu's assessment is appropriate for use across protected ethnic groups.

In personality, moderate differences occurred on two traits. Men tended to score higher than women on the work style of Analytical Thinking (d = .43), while women tended to score higher than men on the work style of Concern for Others (d = -.42).

Taken together, results suggest few gender differences in personality, and expected gender differences in interests.

Age

For age analyses, people over 40 are the protected group. Out of the 138 scales, five results reached a moderate size. People over 40 scored slightly lower than people 39 or under on Organizational Culture of Precision (d = .48). However, they scored higher than people 39 or under on Preference Regarding Troubleshooting (d = -.53), Work Style of Integrity (d = -.55), Work Style of Dependability (d = -.45), and Organizational Culture of Valuing Customers (d = -.50).

Overall, these results suggest age differences are generally small. If anything, results tend to favor the protected group.